


This Was Right

by onlyhereforellick



Series: Fictober ‘19 [31]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, fictober 19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 14:36:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21272807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: This was his family, he wasn’t going anywhere.





	This Was Right

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober 19; prompt 31: “Scared, me?”
> 
> A day late but I’M DONE.
> 
> Last installment of my mini trilogy the past 3 prompts

Ellie’s delivery progressed with a force. She pushed for what felt like forever, but was a little under an hour. Supposedly that wasn’t bad for first time moms. Nick heard none of that the moment he heard the baby’s cry. The doctor reached up and deposited him on Ellie’s bare chest. 

Drenched in sweat and tears and equipped with a smile bright enough to blind the sun, Ellie gazed into her newborn’s eyes. His eyes were full of wonder and amazement as he took in his brand new surroundings. The first official face-to-face meeting of mother and baby was something he’d never forget. Nick would never be able to thank God enough for letting him experience this day. 

He stood off to the side, giving Ellie space to bond with her baby, when she reached a free hand out in his direction and crooked her fingers. Taking her hand he made his way back to stand next to the bed, staring in awe of the beautiful baby boy Ellie had made. Ellie’s eyes drifted from Nick’s back to her baby’s as she continued to hold his hand. A nurse with a slip of paper and inked black footprints walked up to the other side of the bed. “Ellie, what was your precious boy’s name again?”

Ellie glanced up at him briefly before returning her attention to the nurse. Almost shyly which surprised Nick, Ellie answered in a soft voice, “Cody Nicholas Torres.”

His heart stopped, lungs constricted. Nick couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. His eyes flicked between Cody and Ellie, confusion muddying his features. 

“Want to hold him...Dad?” Ellie looked up at him with a glimmer in her eyes. He recognized it as a little bit of hope, a little bit of fear, and a whole lot of love. 

Unable to use his words, he just nodded. Ellie expertly transferred Cody over to Nick’s arms and the second he cradled that little ball of soft warmth, he was hooked. He’d move heaven and earth for this baby and his mom, and he knew she would do the same. 

———

From then on it was a flurry of different nurses and doctors checking both Cody and Ellie to make sure all was well after delivery. He didn’t get a chance to say anything to her until they’d been transferred to their main room that would be home for the next two days. 

The moment the nurse finished her hourly check and exited, silence fell heavily over the room. Both Nick and Ellie started to speak at the same time, with a bow of his head and wave of his hand he conceded to let her go first.

“Nick I’m so sorry. And I know, that doesn’t even  _ begin _ to cover it, but I’m sorry. I didn’t find out until I’d already left—“ that answered that question, she didn’t know, “and then I never knew how to tell you.” Ellie sighed, pausing to look down at the sleeping newborn cradled in her arms. “I wish I could say I’d go back and do it differently, but I can’t.” She returned her gaze to his, “I needed to lose you to find myself. I’d become something I wasn’t, and I hated us for it. I needed this time to work on myself so that one day—hopefully—I would be the kind of partner you needed.” 

Nick wanted so desperately to be angry, to tell her off for leaving him and walk out this door never to see her again. But he couldn’t. And it wasn’t just the little bundle of cuteness in her arms, it was her. Now that he saw Ellie again, he knew there was no way he’d be able to let her leave. 

Since he still hadn’t responded, Ellie started to shift her eyes nervously and began to ramble, “I mean I get it if you could never go back. I’d understand. I don’t really want to go back, I want to start new. But I also get if you don’t think you can. And I would never use Cody as leverage, you know. I want you to want to be with me for me, not because I’m your son’s mother. It took me time to realize it, but I know we can do this the right way. I know—“

“Ellie.” Nick had to stop her. His heart had squeezed when she inadvertently gave him confirmation that Cody was his son. “Ellie,” he repeated, grabbing her free hand softly, “I get it. I wish I was mad, trust me, I do. I deserve to be mad,” a single tear slipped down her cheek as she nodded imperceptibly. He used his thumb to swipe it away. “But I can’t find it in me to ever be mad at you. You were right. We were not healthy, Ellie. I recognize that now, but honestly, I’m not healthy when I’m  _ not _ with you either. I’d love to start fresh with you...and Cody.” A grin spread on his face,  _ he was a father.  _

A small choked sob escaped her lips, but the smile in place told him it was happy tears. Nick knelt down and leaned in close, placing a light kiss on her cheek and a light kiss on Cody’s head. This was his family, he wasn’t going anywhere. 

“Nick?” A small voice from Ellie broke through the tender moment. 

“Yeah, babe?” He chuckled silently at her slight grimace to the nickname. 

“I’m a little scared.” The vulnerable confession almost broke him in two. Ellie was never scared, she was the toughest woman he knew. She’d been to hell and back in recent years, cheated death one too many times, she didn’t do scared. His heart broke for the pain and loneliness she must have felt while separated from her entire support system. 

“Of?” he probed gently.

It came out barely above a whisper, “Of- of, all this. A baby, work, telling my family, the team...you.” Her eyes cast downward at the final word as his gut twisted for the heartbreak in her voice. 

The lump in his throat impossible to speak around. She’d been through so much the past several months and she’d hid it all. She might’ve made friends with the New Orleans team—who thanks to quick thinking earlier, they’d texted telling the group not to worry, Ellie and Cody were doing fine but wanted to hold off on visitors for a bit—but it wasn’t her family. And from the sounds of it, she might not have even told her parents and brothers about the baby yet, Nick couldn’t even imagine what Ellie was feeling. 

She looked back up at him, “Are you? Scared?”

Her eyes rounded and full of raw emotion, he knew this answer meant more to her than she’d ever admit. He decided to answer truthfully, “Scared, me? No. When I’m with you, Ellie, I’m never scared. In fact, you calm the storms that rage in me; when I’m with you I know I’m safe. I know everything will be just fine. My anxiety is quieted, my skin stops crawling; I feel your love, and I’m never scared.”

Her eyes shone with unshed tears as a wet smile graced her lips. He chose that moment to dip his head and place a delicate kiss to her lips, reveling in how sweet they tasted despite the salt from her tears. This was love, this was  _ right_. 


End file.
